Tubing question

[mailmam71]

I bought my pond as a kit and it came with the flexible 1 1/2 inch black tubing to run from my pump in the skimmer box, underground to the waterfall. I had the pond in for 4 years last year and I damaged that hose accidentally so bit the bullet, dug it up and replaced it with, I thought, the same stuff. I went to Lowe's and bought it from their pond department. I messed with it pretty early and broke it, dang it! I'm trying to use a splice and mend it and having no luck. Does anyone have words of wisdom, do these tubings come in rubber also so they are more flexible? I'm at my wits end, I don't want to pull it up AGAIN!

 

[sissy]

most of the ones they sell are those ribbed ones and you may need to protect them underground and you can do that by using that pipe foam protection stuff that the use to protect water lines in you house .You can still get the rubber ones at pet mountain .com or big als online and other places ,but they are not cheap .I use the pipe protector for them and they hold up well and also keep the hoses from freezing which is what causes most hose failures I hate the ribbed ones they break and crack really easy

 

[koiguy1969]

if your talking about the ribbed pond tubing, it gets real flexible after some time in the sun.i use it but i dont have any buried. i pull it every fall when i move my fish inside. i dont know if i'd trust it buried. i think i would run it inside pvc. but then why not just use the pvc?

 

[mailmam71]

It is the ribbed, and it's nearly impossible to fix. What I realize now is what came with my kit had a wire inforcer, this one does not so it's all the more fragile. What kind of tubing are you using, it has to be flexible to fit my contours and I want it buried, not on top of the ground. Thanks

 

[addy1]

With some 45's 90's you can get pvc to follow contours. That is all I have ever used, I wouldn't trust anything else below ground.

 

[brandonsdad02]

I use the flexable no kink pvc hose. I got 25 feet of it for about 23 bucks, but that was directly from the pond supply whole sale. I went to the store to see what they had and they told me where they got it from so I went there too and got it. Very sturdy and I use large branch cutters to cut it. Its ribbed with wire, coated in rubber then the whole hose is coated it rubber.

 

[addy1]

Neat brandonsdad, that sounds like it work well

 

[koiguy1969]

if you want to save what you've got...you can probably fix it with a coupler and hose clamps. all mine except 3 feet is 'inpond'...good luck!

 

[mailmam71]

I've tried and tried to splice this hose but can't get it water tight, very frustrating!

 

[sissy]

I had that kind crack in several places only after a year of use and lucky i caught it

 

[SE18]

Funny, I had the same problem. Theoretically it can be spliced but I had a heck of a time trying to fit the connector in and ended up returning the two 25' long pieces to Lowes and going online and getting a 50' one.

About cracking in winter that a few of you mentioned. Can you be more specific. Did it crack JUST because it got cold and brittle or did it crack on acount of freezing water inside?

This is important for me to know as I plan to remove all the water in winter but it will still be subject to cold temps. I have some of mine underground and some of it (it's 1.5" corrugation) inside 2" grey PVC (made for electrical). That particular PVC has some wide radius elbows (which would form about a 2-3" diameter if connected in a circle). The wide radius is good to keep the flow going. You wouldn't want a 90 degree elbow for sure for sure

 

[sissy]

I took mine out and store it in the basement and when I took it out to reinstall it it started splitting like that all ove in the 12 ft. section I had 8 places it cracked .Figure all well I still had some I did not use and it cracked also .My basement has heat and it does not get that cold here anyways .

 

[HARO]

Around here I can get the 1 1/4" hose for about $1.50 a foot, or the Laguna brand for around $4.00. Of course I bought the cheaper one. It lasted one season, and the next spring I bit the bullet and got the expensive one. It's still in use eight or nine years later! So which one is cheaper??
John

 

[SE18]

The splitting you mentioned is horrible. I'm surprised they still make these corrugated tubes. Perhaps I should have gone with my original plan for PVC. Well, there's always a next time. I'm used to doing rework. We'll see how she holds up. I purchased mine a few weeks ago from FlexiblePVC.net. Cost was $50 for 50 ft of 1.5" dia

 

[sissy]

I bought sump pump hose and used it and just wrapped it in pipe insulation and it is working great .It was only 10 dollars at lowes .I will see how it works out and so far so good .I put it in last spring and it went through the winter and i only turned the pump to the waterfall filter off 2 times and did not even drain the lines .I figured if it works for sump pumps ,try it .I now found out the plumbing supply store sells a heavier duty sump pump hose and they sell the special clamps for the ribbed hose also .3 sizes 1 inch 1 1/2 inch and 2 inch .25 ft 14 dollars for the 1 inch and 18 dollars for 1 1/2 inch .The clamp is to heavy wires that goes between the ribs to hold it tight and then you just use a screw driver to tighten .